Somewhere Safe
by TearsofTomorrow
Summary: The small figure drew into the light that was forever on in the entrance to the precinct, her lips were moving nonstop, repeating a mantra over and over “Somewhere safe, somewhere he won’t find me, somewhere safe….” A small child takes refuge in the 16.
1. Chapter 1

Somewhere Safe

A/N: This is just for fun, to get the creative juices flowing on the two other fics that I'm working on. I really appreciate feedback.

Disclaimer: I own very few things in life. Law and Order's characters are not one of them.

Chapter 1

The city of New York had actually quieted down, to the extent that New York could be quiet. But then, most cities aren't extremely busy at three in the morning. The 16th Precinct of the New York Police Department was dark for the first time in a while. All of their current cases were closed, and the few that remained open had reached a standstill. Nothing more could be done with them, so Captain Cragen had ordered all of his people home, to get a full night of sleep in a long time. It was no wonder then, that no one noticed the small figure creeping up to the building. No one was there to notice—even the night guard had left his post, probably to get coffee.

As the small figure drew into the light that was forever on in the entrance to the precinct, several things about the figure became apparent. For one, the figure was that of a small girl, no more than nine years of age. She had green eyes and fiery red hair. The clothing that she was wearing was far too small for her lithe body. It was dirty and torn. On the whole she did not look well cared for, then if she were wandering into a police station at three in the morning, her couldn't be very well cared for. Her lips were moving nonstop, repeating a mantra over and over "_Somewhere safe, somewhere he won't find me, somewhere safe…._"

After glancing back and forth to make sure that no one was watching her, the girl opened the front door a crack and slipped inside.

Once inside the building she stood very still, both getting used to her surroundings and checking to make sure that no one was inside, waiting for her. Once she was sure that she was indeed alone, the child walked over to the building guide and scanned the list, looking for one elite squad. She figured out where she was going, and left the lobby of the building as silently as she entered. Unwilling to use the elevator, fearing the noise it would make, the girl climbed two flights of stairs slowly, refusing to allow fatigue to take over until she knew that she was safe.

The girl walked out onto the second floor, pausing and drawing a deep breath before she tried the door labeled 'Special Victims Unit'. She had heard that these people worked late, but tonight, "_Please_" she thought, "_tonight have them not be here_." She exhaled softly as she pushed the door open.

Moonlight fell across the empty desks that filled the deserted room. The girl scanned the room quickly, listening for any noise that might hint that there was another person there. After a few moments, she was satisfied and allowed exhaustion to being to overtake her. She didn't want to just sit down on one of the chairs sitting by the door—that would be too risky. Instead, she began to peruse the items cluttering the desks closest to her, looking for some item that would give her an indication that the occupant of that desk would be sympathetic to her plight. She knew that really anyone here would be, but she wanted to find that one person who would really be able to sympathize with her. She was tempted by the desk cluttered with photographs of children—three girls and two boys, all varying in age. She almost stopped there. But then she thought about it, this person already had their own children to worry about. So, she moved on to the desk across from this one. There were almost no pictures at all, only one, of a large group of people, all laughing and smiling. The rest of the desk was neat and organized—completely opposite from the desk across from it. This desk felt safe. The child pulled the chair out and slid into the space under the desk. She pulled the chair back in, so there was no sign of her in the room. She curled up and fell asleep, dead to the world, all the while thinking '_now I'm safe, now I'm safe_'.

A/N: So, let me know if you like it. I've never written this type of story before. I don't plan on having it be a really long fic, maybe 3-5 chapters.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I think that by the end, I will have the rights to one person in this fic. Dick Wolf got first dibs on everyone else.

A/N: Wow! Thank you so much to everyone who read, and especially to the 5 people who reviewed. It made me so happy to check my email and see that I had reviews. So, here's Chapter 2!

Don Cragen arrived at the 16 earlier than usual. He had sent all of his people home early the night before. They were worn out from their most recent case and just needed some time to unload. As he entered the precinct, he was more than a little preoccupied, still worried about Elliot's reaction to a perp the previous day. If he had been a little more focused, he might have noticed the soft sounds of sleep that were coming from a desk in the corner. As it was, the noises went unnoticed.

It wasn't long after Don arrived that the other members of the Special Victim's Unit began to file in, clutching coffee mugs and looking well rested. By the time Don, now back in the role of Captain Cragen, emerged form his office, there was only one desk still empty—that of Olivia Benson. He didn't really mind much; Benson was one of his most dedicated detectives, always on time and a little too passionate about the cases. He could easily overlook her tardiness today.

Underneath a certain desk in that now very busy room, a small child was still sleeping soundly, without any fear, for the first time in a long time.

Just as Cragen finished this thought, Olivia came rushing though the doors of the 1-6, hair still damp, looking slightly flustered.

"I'm sorry," she exclaimed to no one in particular. "My alarm clock got reset during the power outage last week and I haven't been home to notice it until now!" With that, she flung her bag onto her desk and placed the coffee cup on a coaster. She spun around, still rushing. Olivia wasn't used to being late or caught off guard, and today it felt like both happened. "Do we have anything? Where do you need me to go, Cap?" She asked, then slowed down as she realized that Fin, Munch, Elliot, and Cragen were watching her frantic movements with expressions of amusement. As she paused to take a breath, Cragen cut in.

"Olivia, you're fine. We haven't caught anything yet today, so I can look the other way. In my mind, you were on time today."

Olivia smiled and visibly relaxed. Elliot laughed silently. His partner was wound so tightly that the slightest thing could set her off. Still, she was good at her job and he loved working with her. Shaking his head, he went back to working on the report that had to be finished three days ago.

Olivia pulled out her desk chair and dropped into it, thrilled that she caught Cragen in a good mood. She didn't want to think about the response that she could have gotten if it had been a bad day. She was about to slide her chair up to her desk, when something under it caught her eye. As much as she tried to think, Olivia couldn't remember leaving anything under her desk at all.

Not wanting to make a big deal about what was probably a few old files, or an old pair of shoes, Olivia let the paper that she had been holding fall on the ground. Signing, she stooped to pick it up from the ground and gave the area under her desk a quick glance. Then, a look, ending in an amazed stare.

Elliot looked up from his report to see the top of his partner's head barely visible over her desk. "Hey Liv! Find anything good down there?" he called, not really expecting a response. What he was expecting even less was the look on Olivia's face as she rose slightly to meet his eyes.

"Elliot, there's a kid under my desk!"

A/N: OHH! Is it a...clifhanger? I do believe that it is. Anyone have ideas for the "kid's" story, because I have an idea, but it's only that- an idea.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: If you're meeting them for the first time, then I own them; otherwise, defer to Dick Wolf

A/N: I'm not too sure how much I like this chapter. I tried a bunch of different things for the end of it, but none of them really seemed to fit well with the story, so I ended up going back to what I had originally.

Elliot looked at Olivia, dumbfounded. A kid under her desk? It wasn't possible. The precinct was open all night, but that's why they had uniformed officers stationed by the front doors. There was no way that a kid could sneak past the officers and make it up to SVU without anyone noticing.

"Elliot? Earth to Elliot!" Olivia called, causing him to jump slightly. "Should I wake her up? I mean, she's still asleep and its not quiet in here at all, so she's got to be really tired."

Considering that as a valid point, Elliot and Olivia both thought about the issue for a while. Finally, Elliot had enough of the thinking and announced, "Watch her, I'm getting Cragen." Olivia just nodded absentmindedly and continued to gaze down at the child. A hand that suddenly came down on her shoulder surprised her and she spun around to see Munch standing behind her. Following his gaze, she realized that he had noticed the girl.

"Wow Benson," he said. "I didn't know you had a kid."

"What…" Olivia started to shriek, then lowered her voice as she remembered the child, "are you talking about?"

"That kid under your desk, obviously." Munch said, "I had no idea it was take your kid to work day, Liv. But why'd you stick her under your desk, not in the crib."

The glare that Munch was met with from Olivia was enough to chill just about anything, and it had that very effect on Munch's humor. Realizing a little late that there was obviously more to the scene than met the eye, Munch tried again.

"So, Liv, do you know what her story is?" Munch asked.

"I'd like to know the same thing," Cragen said from behind Olivia.

"Oh, Sir. I was wondering if I should wake the girl up or not. I mean, she looks really peaceful sleeping, but there's got to be a reason that she's here all alone, and she looks so young."

Cragen nodded. "We have to get her up. Stabler, Munch- over here. I don't want her to get spooked if she wakes up and sees a strange man hovering above her. I think we all have an idea about why she might be here."

Olivia sighed as Cragen, Elliot, and John retreated to the other end of the room. She knelt down next to the child and began to gently shake her shoulder, murmering softly to her.

The girl started and began to open her eyes slowly. Noticing her surroundings, she got very anxious and tried to jump up and away, but Olivia stopped her and began to talk to her in a low voice.

From their distance, Cragen, Munch, and Elliot really couldn't see what was going on, however, they were relieved when they saw Olivia stand up, holding the hand of the small girl next to her. This was the first time that anyone had actually gotten a good look at the girl, and they were shocked by her appearance and how uncared for she looked.

"We're going to talk." Olivia said, then turned and walked towards the children's interview room. The girl's hand was still holding tightly to Olivia's, and she stayed very close to Olivia's side.

In the interview room, Olivia pulled out some paper and crayons and set them on a small table. The girl didn't look interested in them at all, rather she watched Olivia's every movement and never left her side.

"Sweetie, where do you want to sit?" Olivia asked the girl, who remained silent. "Okay then" Olivia muttered to herself and settled down on one of the couches in the room. True to form, the girl followed Olivia to the couch, but instead of sitting down next to Olivia, she crawled up and sat down on her lap.

Olivia was taken aback by this. Never before had a child victim sat on her lap at the beginning of the first interview. However, she realized that she could use this to her advantage and shifted slightly so that she was able to look the girl in the face.

"My name's Olivia. What's yours?" she asked, trying to get anything to go on.

"Julia," the girl murmured, looking anywhere but at Olivia.

"Okay Julia, that's a very pretty name. Do you know what your last name is?" Olivia prodded. She knew that if they could get more information, then it would be easier to find any family that this girl had.

"Umm, I don't know." Julia said. Olivia must have let a flicker of disappointment cross her face, because the next moment Julia was crying "I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I know I'm stupid and can't remember things. I'll try harder. I'll remember next time. I promise!"

Olivia was shocked. Wrapping her arms around Julia, she rocked her back and forth, murmuring "You're not stupid, you're a wonderful child. It's okay sweetie, it's fine. Shh, it's okay."

After a few minutes, Julia had calmed down. Olivia knew that she was going to have to get to the hard part of the interview sooner or later, and in this case she decided to go there sooner. The girl already trusted her so there was no need for her to build up a relationship, when one had instantaneously appeared between them.

"Julia, I'm not mad or upset with you at all, but I really need to know why you were under my desk. Can you tell me?" Olivia hoped that this direct approach would work.

"Momma said that if I was ever in trouble and couldn't find her, I should go to the police. It took me a really long time, but I though that this was a police office. So I went in, but there was no one and I was really tired so I fell asleep." Julia looked at Olivia, willing her to believe that what she just said was true.

Olivia didn't completely buy Julia's story. For one, she would have to really try to not run into any of the night guards while making her way up to SVU. And that still didn't explain why Julia was asleep under her desk, rather than on one of the benches or chairs that were plentiful in a police station.

"Sweetie, are you sure that there wasn't anything else? Were you maybe trying to get away from someone bad?" Olivia prodded with more questions. She really wanted Julia to open up and tell her what was wrong, before she just took her to Mercy to have her examined.

Julia's lower lip began to quiver slightly. Without warning, she burst into tears and flung her arms around Olivia's neck, attaching herself firmly. Olivia just sat there, and, as before, rocked her back and forth and murmured to her. When Julia calmed down, Olivia disentangled herself and faced her.

"I need to take you to the hospital, just for a check up." Olivia paused, watching panic rise in Julia's eyes. "Don't worry, I'll be with you the whole time, unless you don't want me to be there.

"Okay," came Julia's soft reply.

"Let's go then," said Olivia, and the two walked out hand in hand, just as they had entered.

Cragen had been observing the interview and heard Olivia say that they were going to the hospital, so he called Elliot and had him bring the sedan up.

"Elliot's waiting for you." Cragen said as Olivia and Julia walked past him on their way out of the precinct.

"Thanks," came Olivia's reply as she entered the elevator with Julia.

A/N: Next chapter will be at the hospital, and then we'll get to hear Julia's story. I can't wait to figure out what it's actually going to be (that's part of the reason for the fluff in this chapter).


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns everyone but Julia who-doesn't-know-her-last-name

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns everyone but Julia who-doesn't-know-her-last-name.

A/N: I don't remember where Dr. Hendrix worked, so forget whatever Dick Wolf's people may say—she is employed by Mercy General Hospital. And thank you so much to everyone who read and reviewed so far. I forgot to mention this earlier, but I got 10 review for chapter 2, which is a record for me, and I got reviews for chapter 3 less than an hour after I posted, so thanks! I really appreciate it!

Elliot dropped Olivia and Julia off at the entrance to the hospital and went to park the car. He was going to deal with the paperwork at the front desk so that Olivia could stay with Julia during her exam.

Olivia and Julia walked into the ER of Mercy General. Cragen had called ahead, so they were expecting the case and were able to send Dr. Hendrix down to do the exam. Olivia was relieved when she saw her. She really knew how to talk to the kids and was great at making them less nervous, which was going to be necessary. Olivia was already beginning to lose the feeling in her fingers, as Julia was holding onto her hand so tightly, and they barely been in the hospital for two minutes.

"Olivia, it's been a while." Dr. Hendrix greeted her with a smile, then turned to Julia and said, "Hi Julia, my name's Rebecca, but you can just call me Becca."

Julia looked at Dr. Hendrix, not saying anything or smiling, but not breaking into tears either as the group began walking towards.

Sensing that she wasn't going to get a response, Dr. Hendrix went on, "I'm just going to look at you and make sure that you're alright. Olivia can stay with you the whole time if you'd like."

They reached the door to an empty exam room. Rebecca opened the door and Olivia and Julia walked in. The room was most definitely not an adult exam room, but it wasn't your typical pediatric exam room either as the obnoxiously large cartoon characters were nowhere to be seen. Instead, the walls were painted pale blue, with clouds. Pulling out a cloth exam gown, Dr. Hendrix handed it to Julia and said, "I know it's uncomfortable, but I really need you to put this on. I'll be waiting in the hallway while you change, so just knock on the door when you're ready."

Julia nodded and let her grasp on Olivia's hand go. Olivia took this as a sign to leave and got up, beginning to follow Dr. Hendrix out of the room. She was at the door when she felt Julia tugging on her sweater. She looked down, into Julia's eyes for the first time.

"Please, don't leave me." Julia said.

Olivia nodded and closed the door, the sat down in one of the chairs in the room, absentmindedly flipping through a medical catalogue that had been left in the room while Julia changed.

The room had been quiet for a while. Olivia realized that she must have lost track of time while flipping through the catalogue and glanced up. Julia was sitting on the floor, in the hospital gown, with silent tears running down her face.

"Oh sweetie," Olivia said as she knelt down beside her. "What's wrong?"

Julia stayed silent, as she had since they entered the hospital. Olivia picked her up carefully and sat her down on the table. "I really hate hospitals Julia. And I bet you do too. They're not fun places to be, but can you be really brave for me?"

Julia nodded and wiped away the tears that were still streaming down her face.

"I'm going to get Dr. Hendrix now. The sooner she starts, the sooner you can leave." Olivia promised.

The door opened and Olivia exited the room. "How much do you know about this case right now?" Olivia asked Dr. Hendrix.

"Nothing. All I was told was the SVU had a young female victim who needed an exam. Possible abuse, no real details." Dr. Hendrix recited the scant information that she had.

"All I can add to that is terrified of hospitals." Olivia stated. "Be thorough, but the sooner we're out of here, the better Julia will feel."

Dr. Hendrix nodded and opened the door, allowing Olivia to enter first.

To speed up the exam, Olivia took photographs and collected some of the evidence that Dr. Hendrix found. As a team, they were able to work fast and covered almost all bases very quickly. However, they left the hardest part for last.

"Now Julia, I need you to lie flat on your back and bend your knees." Dr. Hendrix said.

Julia began to comply, then realized where it was going and stopped. Olivia moved over to her side and took her hand.

"I promise you, Becca will go as fast as she can. She's not going to hurt you, she's just making sure that no one else has tried to hurt you in the past." Olivia reassured Julia. "Here, hold my hand."

Julia took Olivia's hand and laid back on the exam table. Dr. Hendrix started the exam, and Julia's grip on Olivia's hand got tighter. Olivia was trying to keep an eye on Julia's reaction, but also on what Dr. Hendrix was doing, so that she had an idea of what might have happened to Julia. That plan failed when Olivia noticed that Julia was crying. From then on, all of her attention was focused on the child, and she didn't realize that the exam was done until she heard Dr. Hendrix pulling her gloves off.

"Thank you Julia." She said as she turned to leave. "That was very hard and you were really good the whole time. I have some clothes for you to change into, so you don't have to put your other ones back on." She handed Olivia a bag of NYPD sweats that Elliot must have dropped off. As she passed the bag she whispered, "I'll hand the evidence I collected off to Elliot. He can log it in." Aloud she said, "Julia, if you need anything, let Olivia know. She has my number and I can always come." With a smile, she left, taking with her a collection of swabs and baggies.

Olivia walked over to Julia, who was still seated on the exam table. "Here are some clothes for you. Then, what do you say about going out to get some food before we go back to the police station?"

Julia took the bag of clothes, and nodded, then asked, "Can we get pizza? The kind with pineapple and sausage on it?"

Olivia laughed and said, "As soon as you're dressed, we'll go and get some pineapple and sausage pizza."

Julia smiled slightly, then began pulling the clothes out of the bag and Olivia went back to browsing the medical supplies catalogue. Julia tapped her on the arm when she was changed and the two left the room.

Elliot was waiting for them in the waiting room. "Hey El," Olivia greeted him. "Can you drop us off at the best pizza place you know of in Manhattan?"

Elliot smiled. "I most certainly can do that. I can even have Munch bring your car around so that you don't have to rely on me to get back when you're done." Lowering his voice, he said, "Everything that Rebecca got is in the trunk. One of the nurses also grabbed the clothes that she was wearing and they're back there too. I'll drop everything off at forensics after I drop you guys off."

"Thanks Elliot," Olivia said, then turned to Julia. "Buckled and ready to go?"

"Yup," said Julia, more talkative now that they had left the hospital and were back in the sedan. "Hungry, too!"

"Well, then let's get this show on the road," said Olivia, and Elliot pulled the car out of the parking lot.

A/N: Okay, so I have been avoiding Julia's story because I still kind of have no idea what it is, which is bad. I may end up going back on myself, and this next chapter may be fluff too, or maybe I'll have Julia open up to Olivia at the pizza place, or maybe it'll be a combination of pizza and interview at the 1-6, with Julia's story. You'll just have to wait and see.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns everyone that you know

Disclaimer: Dick Wolf owns everyone that you know. I own everyone you don't know.

A/N: I hope this isn't too sappy and overly-sweet. I've never really written like this before, so this chapter is an experiment.

Elliot dropped Olivia and Julia off in front of Joe's Pizzeria. The two walked inside while he drove back to the 1-6. Before he picked up Olivia's car, he dropped all the evidence that was collected at the hospital off in forensics. Melinda Warner stopped him when he dropped the evidence off. She hadn't heard anything about the case and was wondering if there was anything that she needed to be aware of. Unfortunately, as Julia had yet to talk about the reason she was at the 16, there was little that Elliot could tell her other than, "It's a girl."

Back at Joe's, Olivia and Julia were having a great time. Olivia had been pretty skeptical about pineapple and sausage pizza, but for Julia's sake, she pretended that she loved it. She was glad that she had gone along and tried it because she found out that she loved it!

It was nice for Olivia to see Julia in a light different from the typical victim. She was transformed into a completely self-confident young girl, laughing and joking with Olivia, goofing off and acting like a typical kid should. Gone was the timid and afraid child who had clung desperately to Olivia earlier.

Olivia didn't want to contribute this growth solely to herself, but still wondered how much positive attention had been shown to this girl in the past. Probably none, she realized, because the attention that she was being showered with from Olivia was definitely part of the force that changed her into a more confident person.

She was safe. No one could touch her. Julia smiled as she looked around the restaurant, at all the other happy families enjoying the afternoon together. She still didn't have a family, but she wasn't afraid anymore. She was right to trust these new people whom she had met just that morning because they were making her safe. They would protect her. She knew that beyond a doubt, no one would be able to get to her with these people around her.

Part of Olivia was sad, realizing that in a short while, she would have to take Julia out of this happy, warm atmosphere, back to the scary world of the 1-6, where Julia would be forced to relive all that had happened to her that was wrong and bad. It would be painful, and she would be forced to relive the worst part of her young life to this point, but Olivia was confident that she would make it through. The trial would be tough, but as she sat there, watching Julia laugh, she had no doubts that the kid would make it through just fine. Whatever issues came up would be dealt with. Olivia was feeling kind of invincible at the moment.

She looked down and smiled at Julia, as Julia smiled back at her.

_I'm finally somewhere safe. He'll never find me now._

A/N: So I know that there were people who really wanted to hear about Julia's story, but I couldn't bring my self to writing it. I got attached to her. I really didn't want to get into the stickiness of dealing with Julia's personal story and the reasons that lead to her hiding out at the 1-6, looking for help. So, I've decided to end it here. There is no more, but if anyone feels like it, you are by all means allowed to steal Julia and finish the story. Thanks so much to everyone who read and reviewed.


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